Mr. Udoh promised to release further information on the issue as the state battles to stop the spread of the infection.

Monkey Pox was first reported in Yenagoa, on October 4 with 10 persons infected.

Barely a day after, authorities in the state said 49 persons alleged to have met the infected persons were being tracked.

As part of measures to contain the infection, many were quarantined in an isolation centre at the Niger Delta University Hospital (NDUTH) Okolobiri.

The Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), and the epidemiological team of the Bayelsa State Ministry of Health, created the facility.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner for Health, Ebitimitula Etebu, while confirming the development, said samples of the virus had been sent to the World Health Organisation, WHO, laboratory in Dakar, Senegal, for confirmation.

He said the Monkey Pox is a viral disease caused by a group of viruses that include chicken pox and small pox, noting that the first case was reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He, however, said the strain found in West Africa is milder than that of the Central Africa, noting that there has been no record of mortality.